TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We recently stayed at Royalton Bávaro in Punta Cana for a spring break trip with our two adult sons and their girlfriends, celebrating a graduation. We were very much looking forward to a relaxing, luxury all-inclusive experience, especially given the property’s Autograph Collection branding and our Diamond Club upgrade. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of expectations. While the resort itself is beautiful, the layout, pools, and beach location are all excellent, it was clear the property was unprepared for a busy spring break week, and service across nearly every area was disappointing. Room issues started immediately. In one room, we had a broken bathroom door that staff acknowledged at check-in as a known issue but never repaired during our stay. That same room lacked basic amenities including a hairdryer, coffee, snacks, and sufficient towels. In our second room, there was no welcome bottle of liquor, and coffee, snacks, and towels were never replenished despite repeated requests. Service was a consistent challenge. The Diamond desk changed our butler on day two because none of our requests were being fulfilled. Our new butler, David, was attentive and genuinely tried to help, but it often seemed that issues were beyond his control. At one point, he was told by the housekeeping supervisor that the hotel was out of stock on towels entirely. Dining was equally frustrating. Despite Diamond Club status, dinner reservations were difficult to secure. At restaurants, service was disorganized as tables often lacked menus, silverware, or even water unless we specifically asked. We did have a positive experience renting a pool cabana for three days. Roberto, the attendant, provided excellent service. However, even this highlight had issues. On the third day, an included amenity (a tomahawk steak) was unavailable. While we were given a reduced rate and signed for it, we were later charged a higher amount at checkout. When we raised the discrepancy, we were told resolving it would take time we didn’t have, as our transportation to the airport had already arrived. Overall, aside from a few standout staff members like David and Roberto, the level of service, from check-in to housekeeping to dining and checkout, was consistently subpar. We are not high-maintenance travelers, but this experience felt more like a 1–2 star resort rather than the premium experience we paid for. Very disappointing, especially given the expectations associated with the Royalton and Marriott Autograph Collection brands.

The resort was nice, but didn’t blow us away. Food was good but long lines for all meals. Some staff were fabulous but others were not hospitable. Lots of staff pushing spa, excursions, jewelry, etc as you walked around. It was not pleasant to have people calling for your attention like that. Room was very nice. Lazy river was one big reason we chose this resort. It was great but cold water! Many other people were in it but we couldn’t enjoy it. Even my kids. Beach was beautiful. Pools and pool areas were lovely- large, plenty of lounge chairs, great sun and shade. Gym was quite small. We’ll check more carefully on that if we do another all-inclusive. Overall it was great but not amazing.

The resort grounds were well maintained and beach was very pretty. The room had a horrible musty smell, the worst I had ever smelled in a hotel. You could see water damage on wall outside shower and grout missing around some tiles in shower. Mold in the silicone in shower (I expected some of that). The beds were comfortable. It was very hard to get extra blankets. It was very hard to get fresh bath towels. They ran out of pool towells often. It was impossible to get dinner reservations b/c we didn’t have Diamond Club so we had to eat at the buffet for every meal, which was unexciting. The Diamond Club system is stupid. I think the butlers block all the spots so they can give them to their clients. We tried to reserve at midnight for the follwing day and they were sold out. At the buffet the fruit, salad and grill were great, but everything else was mediocre. I did eat at Rio (Brazilian Steakhouse) and the food was mediocre too. The piña coladas , mojitos and other frozen coctels were excellent. Overall, the staff wasn’t outstanding. They were nice enough, but not anything extra. Several teens from our travel group got traveler’s diarrhea, most likely from brushing their teeth with tap water and from eating from the buffet. I wouldn’t ever stay here again. I’d consider going back to the DR and staying at a different resort.

We had terrific time at the Royalton. This was our third time here and probably the best experience so far. The Diamond Club makes a huge difference and our butler Eduardo was EXCELLENT! He was incredibly organized, responsive and made sure we had everything we needed each day. I can’t overstate what a difference he made to making our trip relaxing and enjoyable. The beach is stunning. The pools are fun. The gym is well equipped. Sad our trip is over but we had an absolute blast.

Ruben (Big Papi) and Willy (Pedro) at the bar by Flow rider were awesome dudes and great bartenders. Swim out room was excellent. Food…. Ehhhh